{"id":4874,"date":"2019-04-11T07:40:13","date_gmt":"2019-04-11T07:40:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cita.co.uk\/news\/?p=4874"},"modified":"2019-04-11T07:40:13","modified_gmt":"2019-04-11T07:40:13","slug":"construction-of-640-new-schools-needed-as-pupil-numbers-soar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cita.co.uk\/news\/construction-of-640-new-schools-needed-as-pupil-numbers-soar\/","title":{"rendered":"Construction of 640 new schools needed as pupil numbers soar"},"content":{"rendered":"

A mass building programme of 640 new schools will be needed over the next two years as an additional 385,000 pupils join England\u2019s school system.<\/p>\n

Latest research by public sector procurement specialist Scape Group shows 12,835 new school classrooms will be needed to keep-up with demand.<\/p>\n

Over the next two years, every region in England will experience at least a 3%\u00a0 increase on the current number of pupils.<\/p>\n

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London, the South East and the South West can all expect to see the largest increases alongside Birmingham and Manchester.<\/p>\n

Mark Robinson, Scape Group Chief Executive, said: \u201cAs with many critical issues that desperately need political attention, education has dropped down the agenda as government bodies focus on Brexit and our future position with the rest of the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery region in England needs to build more schools, and local authorities nationwide will be feeling the strain.<\/p>\n

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“We must collectively focus on delivering a strategy and solutions which not only provide high-quality, modern spaces for teaching and learning but also offer our colleagues in local authorities cost certainty, value for money and timely delivery.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe current government believes free schools are the answer, but I would argue that this standpoint has been born out of ideological stubbornness, rather than a genuine effort to tackle the school places crisis.<\/p>\n

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“Deploying government resources to existing school structures instead would enable local authorities to refurbish and extend current schools to provide additional school places. This would be a much more efficient way of spending taxpayers\u2019 money.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is vital that we focus on solutions that will allow us to create additional school places quickly and resourcefully, without compromising on quality. Offsite technology is one answer.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile the Education and Skills Funding Agency started its push for modular four years ago, only 70 schools have been built using offsite construction so far.<\/p>\n

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“Modern Methods of Construction not only enable quick construction but can also cost local authorities significantly less.<\/p>\n

“Until the government takes more pragmatic action, they cannot claim to be safeguarding the futures of young people.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Scape Group\u2019s recommendations on how to tackle the School Places Challenge<\/strong><\/p>\n